PARETOS CONCEPT OF DEMAGOGIC PLUTOCRACY 373. First comes the Plutocracy, which is composed of wealthy bankers, railway magnates, corporation directors, and trust magnates. Stating that a particular form of government is marching towards a plutocracy is therefore a cautionary warning sign that these undesirable actions should be stopped.įor example, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his autobiography, “Of all forms of tyranny the least attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of a plutocracy. published in 1921 under the title, Trasformazione della democrazia. In the modern vernacular, the term plutocracy is typically used in a pejorative sense to describe or warn against an undesirable condition. In that scenario, the oppression of the populace is more likely under these forms of government. They are almost always used to convey a negative impression, based on the belief-or fear-that the minority is more likely to work selfishly for its own interests than for the interests of the nation. In many cases, the affluent may influence decision-makers by legal and illegal means, such as lobbying, bribing, and funding election campaigns.īoth terms, plutocracy and oligarchy, represent the voice of a concentrated minority. In a plutocracy, the wealthy rule, but not always by being the elected leaders of the government. The group is chosen because of favorable factors such as military capability, wealth, race, political connections, religion, and education. This was reflected by the increased ability of the wealthy to significantly affect the nation's law-making and election processes, in tandem with the existence of the powerful oil, steel, and railroad monopolies.Īn oligarchy is a system of government in which a small group runs the government. Some modern economists and historians suggest that the United States was effectively plutocratic for the periods between the end of the Civil War (1865) and the start of the Great Depression (1929). Plutocracy Examplesįamous examples of plutocracies include Ancient Rome, the pre-World War II Empire of Japan, and the pre-Revolutionary Kingdom of France. The democratic concern of a plutocracy is that the wealthy will wish to maintain their power and, therefore, only represent the interests of the wealthy as opposed to people of all levels of education and income. Quotes tagged as 'plutocracy' Showing 1-30 of 40.vast accession of strength from their younger recruits, who having nothing in them of the feelings or principles of ’76 now look to a single and splendid government of an Aristocracy, founded on banking institutions and monied in corporations under the guise and cloak. Instead, plutocracies can gradually form by allowing sole access to essential political and educational resources that only the rich can afford. A plutocracy may not be the result of a planned system of government.
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